08/02/2019, 12:52

It's the friday Leave or Remain poll!

08/02/2019, 15:56

In a column for The Huffington Post today, the former Olympic track cycling champion wrote: "We need to put ourselves in the shoes of others and show more compassion and consideration to better appreciate the dangers and challenges we all pose each other. As part of the standard driving test, people should also have an experience of cycling on the road.

"As a former professional cyclist I’ve probably spent more time on the road than most people, experienced road rage and know plenty of people who have been involved in accidents. More recently, I’ve taken up horse riding and discovered that being in charge of a 600kg animal doesn’t give you any more consideration or respect on the roads either. I also walk my two dogs along the road and feel a real sense of responsibility to keep all my animals safe.

"There seems to be a lot of anger out there. Recent reports show 47% of British road users have faced aggression and 41% sworn at or insulted on Britain’s roads. Over half of all road users – motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, runners or wheelchair users – have felt intimated.

The roads are for everyone and we all pay taxes to maintain the UK’s road infrastructure. Everyone has a right to be there whether they’re in a car, on a bike, on a horse or simply walking the dogs.

"I think the answer could be more empathy. We need to put ourselves in the shoes of others and show more compassion and consideration. This isn’t just aimed at motorists because cyclists and horse riders aren’t always saints either. And that’s where I come back to my first suggestion. If we can experience what it’s like to be a cyclist, horse rider or even a dog walker, then maybe we can better appreciate the dangers and challenges we all pose each other."

08/02/2019, 13:08

The golden Colnago

Who would ride a bike like this?

Yeah okay, the golden Colnago is Ernesto Colnago's special 87th birthday treat. Nice. and you can find lots more pics of it here. Check out those downtube shifters

08/02/2019, 12:23

Moving a fair bit quicker than a car park...

The new cycleway leading to the biggest bicycle parking in Utrecht is used well in the morning rush hour. It doesn’t lead anywhere else, these people are *all* about to park their bikes! pic.twitter.com/tSwuKHMVUT

Will we all be riding around on 3D-printed airless bike tyres soon?

Somehow we missed this when details were first revealed a few months back, but this 3D-printed tyre concept from BigRep looks intriguing. The company specialise in industrial additive manufacturing, and then realised their 3D-printed filament actually made a pretty good bike tyre. They also made a fully 3D-printed electric motorbike recently, watch the BBC's video about it here.

08/02/2019, 09:42

Safety concerns over e-scooter hire schemes following deaths

A consumer watchdog in the United States has called for the safety of electric scooters to be reviewed following the death of Irish student Mark Sands who was riding one when he was involved in a collision with an Uber car in Texas.

The BBC reports that Consumer Reports – similar to Which? In the UK – estimates there have been 1,545 road traffic incidents involving electric scooter riders, and says operators need to do more to improve safety.

The scooter Mr Sands was riding belonged to Lime, which is also trialling them in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, although under current laws they are banned from the public highway in the UK.

In a statement, Lime said: "We were devastated to learn of this tragic death here in Austin and our thoughts are with the victim's family and friends during this extremely difficult time.

"We have been in contact with local authorities and will continue to assist however possible."

"At Lime, the safety of our riders and the community is our number one priority.

"That's why every day we're innovating on technology, infrastructure and education to set the standard for micromobility safety."

William Wallace of Consumer Reports said: "Right now, a stunning number of e-scooter users are getting seriously hurt, including with head injuries

"Consumers, scooter companies, cities, helmet-makers, and safety regulators must work together now to improve the safety of these products."

08/02/2019, 09:16

Video: Cyclist killed in NYC -police respond by ticketing riders and push one to ground

The death of a cyclist in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen district this week has seen New York Police Department (NYPD) officers take to the streets - to ticket bike riders, with one pushed to the ground.

Video of the police operation, which also saw officers confiscate bikes, was posted to Twitter by witness Chana Widawski.

She told Gothamist: "When I first came up, I saw an officer shove a guy off of his bicycle.That guy screaming from the car, he was screaming, 'I saw you just knocked that bicyclist on the ground!' I was trying to record it as a witness."

Gothamist notes that when a cyclist is killed in a road traffic incident in New York City, police typically respond with operations that target cyclists alleged to have committed traffic violations.

But Widawski, who works for an organisation called Families For Safe Streets, said: "It's outrageous this is what the police are using their limited resources for.

"We know what's actually killing New Yorkers on our streets, and that's drivers who fail to yield and drivers who are speeding."

Born in Scotland, Simon moved to London aged seven and now lives in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds with his miniature schnauzer, Elodie. He fell in love with cycling one Saturday morning in 1994 while living in Italy when Milan-San Remo went past his front door. A daily cycle commuter in London back before riding to work started to boom, he's been news editor at road.cc since 2009. Handily for work, he speaks French and Italian. He doesn't get to ride his Colnago as often as he'd like, and freely admits he's much more adept at cooking than fettling with bikes.